Inversion

(Chapter 3)

I stared in awe at Lilycove City. I had seen pictures of it in magazines and on TV, but seeing it in person was a completely different experience. I looked up at the enormous department store, where you could purchase virtually anything. I noted the waves crashing into the shoreline, and the couples sitting on the beach. Maybe Grace and I can relax there later. It then struck me that I still needed to locate and explain to her my every intention. I allowed my eyes to wander until they fell upon the Pokémon Contest Hall. That was to be the location of the Psy-competition today. I hurried over, none too eager to put this whole fiasco to rest.

I entered the Contest Hall, and I was once again caught off guard. There were trainers on one side, there were trainers on the other. There were trainers everywhere from Timbuktu to East Jabib. They were talking about things such as Pokéblocks, the Elite Four, foreign Pokémon, and the Psy-competition, obviously. I continued on my way to the front desk, while still keeping an ear out for a "lone Gardevoir," or something along those lines.

"Hello," I said to the lady at the counter, though I was only half-aware of what I was doing.

"Hello, sir. If you're here for the Psy-competition, you're just in time. We were just about to close entry."

"Umm, yeah. Wait, what'd you say?"

"I said that we're closing entry to the Psy-competition. Would you like to enter?" She seemed somewhat annoyed with me.

"Oh, right. Sorry, I'm a little distracted. Yes, I'd like to enter, but first I have a question."

"Yes?" She was becoming quite impatient.

"Did a Gardevoir show up earlier?"

"Sir, this is a competition for Psychic-type Pokémon. There were a couple of Gardevoirs that showed up."

"How about a lone Gardevoir?"

At hearing this, the attendance lady's expression changed. "Why do you ask?"

"Because, after an argument we had this morning, she stormed out. And after seeing your reaction, I know she showed up here."

She gave a deep sigh. "What's your name?"

"Mo. Now where is she?"

After putting what I assumed was my name into a computer, she took me to a long red hallway. "Room H3. Just go right in."

"H3?"

"The Gardevoir room. Gardevoir is the third Psychic-type in Hoenn Pokédex."

"Right. Uhh, thanks." The lady left, clearly happy that she was leaving my presence. I stood staring at the door for several minutes, before I managed to work up the nerve to knock. I slowly opened the door, preparing for what was going to happen once I was inside. What is she gonna say? Will she run away? Will she hurt me? After deciding that thinking about it was doing me no good, I took a deep breath and turned the knob.

Inside, there were only five trainers, like the attendee said, who were sitting with their Gardevoirs. There was a mustached man, probably in his forties; a young woman with bright red hair; an older woman with curly black hair; a short boy of about ten; and lastly, a teenage girl who looked remarkably like a Gardevoir herself. I looked around, taking in the furniture. There were two red sofas on either side of me, and a small red loveseat against the back wall, with end tables placed at the corners. As I continued my search, my eyes fell on a figure sitting far from the others with her head in her hands. "Grace?"

She looked up. I noticed that her eyes were watering heavily, and that her face was covered in tear stains. "What do you want?" The accusation in the tone of her voice was clear, even in her telepathy.

"Grace, you need to let me explain."

"I don't need to let you do shit." I had never heard Grace swear before. I was treading deep water. I became conscious that the other Gardevoirs and their trainers were watching the two of us, but I really didn't care. If Grace would shout in her telekinetic voice, I would shout in my real one.

"Grace, please! Don't do this! First you run away, then you practically bite my head off! I didn't mean to offend you. I just never knew how to tell you that –"

"That what? You want to treat me like a sex toy!" As Grace's anger rose, I felt myself gaining more control of the situation.

"That I love you." Grace seemed unprepared for this. Her expression changed from angry to confused.

"What?"

"I love you Grace. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Now, I know that sounds corny, but please! You need to understand. I've felt this way for a long time. At first it was just because you were my friend, but after awhile, I realized that I could never care about anyone else the way I care about you."

Grace was left speechless for a moment, but she quickly pulled herself together. "If you're so sincere, then how come I saw what I saw in your head this morning?"

"I'm a guy, and I'm sixteen. Do the math." I didn't mean to sound accusatory, but seriously. I'm a sixteen year old guy! What else do I think about?

Again, Grace was at a loss for words, until she came up with something that even I couldn't answer without feeling awkward. "But I'm a Pokémon. Doesn't that bother you?"

"I'll admit, the idea is a little unnerving. Even so, I still love you, human or not."

She looked at me for what seemed like an eternity. I suppose she was trying to see if I was lying. I kept my focus on those ruby irises of hers the whole time. I stared into her eyes, while she stared into mine. And before I could react, she kissed me. I recoiled slightly; I really wasn't expecting it. She seemed worried at first, until I smiled to reassure her that it was okay. I held my hand out to her, and she took it, returned the smile, then we locked lips in a kiss that contained every ounce of love and passion that we could muster. Telepathically, I asked her if I was forgiven.

"Only if you don't stop."

It was a few seconds later (or a few hours; I really couldn't tell) that I heard a light clapping. I broke the kiss with Grace, which seemed to disappoint her. I looked up to see the teenage girl smiling, clapping in unison with her Gardevoir. I noted that everyone else was looking at us, all with a pleasant expression on their faces. However, the girl spoke first. "Congratulations, guys! I'm so happy for you!"

"Umm… Thanks, but who are you exactly?" Being congratulated on my new relationship by a stranger was a little off. At least the rest of the 'audience' contained themselves.

"Hallie Santouchi, pleased to make your acquaintance! I couldn't help but observe your, erm, breakthrough, and I just wanted to tell you good luck. What are your names, Grace and…?"

"Uhh… Mo." I looked at Grace for help, but she was at a loss.

"We should get together sometime! What do you think?"

"Well, as you can see, we're working through some personal issues."

"Oh it's okay, I'll just visit you in Fortree."

"Wait, how do you know –"

"That's my little secret." She winked, then continued ranting. "Yeah, with such a close bond, you guys are sure to win the Psy-competition."

"The Psy-? Oh yeah! I forgot all about that!"

Not a minute later, another competition attendee came in and told everyone to line up and head out to the main hall. Grace and I, still a little shaken up from the earlier 'occurrences' that we had undergone, got in line behind the others. We were led into a large room that had row upon row of spectators, all cheering, booing, or showing off their painted man boobs.

I could see the emcee readying the mike. "Good morning, ladies, gentlemen, and Pokémon alike. Welcome to the annual Psy-competition, the only competition where you can win just by thinking about it! Now, we have many contestants with us today, so we'll start off in groups. All Kanto contestants will participate in Hall A, all Johto contestants in Hall B, all Hoenn in Hall C, Sinnoh in Hall D, and Unova in Room E. When the numbers dwindle low enough, we'll get everyone back here for the BIG show. Now, contestants, to your Halls!"

I allowed myself to be ushered along until we came into another, smaller room. I observed that only Hoenn Psychic-types were present. Another emcee showed up and put everyone into different groups. Grace and I were in the telekinetic group. We started simple, bending spoons and knives, working up to Grace beating the other telekinetics by bending a steel girder.

Afterwards, we conquered the ESP portion without incident. We won the prediction group by default, seeing as Grace was the only remaining Hoenn contestant who knew Future Sight. The emcee announced us as the winners of the Hoenn division, and we rejoined the four remaining contestants, one with an Alakazam, another with a Xatu, another with a Bronzong, the last with a Beheeyem. "Tough competition, huh Grace?"

"Not for me." I could tell she was fighting to keep a straight face. False egotism was not her strong place.

"Hey, share. We'll take these guys together." Grace smiled at me, then redoubled her focus. We were ready for whatever they thought they could throw at us.

"For our Grand Finale, we will feature an elimination-style tournament battle!" The crowd cheered as the emcee explained the rules. "And seeing as we have an odd number of opponents, I shall fill in as the sixth man." Everyone cheered for him as he brought out his Medicham, and he took a moment to bask in the limelight. "To avoid any favoritism, though, if I win, my runner-up shall take the trophy. Now, if you'll divert your attention to the screen, you'll see who's paired up with who." I followed his gaze up to a large screen, where a family-tree type diagram had a branch from my name to someone named Geoffrey.

I walked to one side of an arena as the man with the Alakazam walked to the other. I noted his dark appearance, like he hadn't seen sunlight for a few days. I then focused on his Alakazam. It was top-heavy, and probably kept its balance using psychic energy. But not enough to weaken it in battle. Then I had an idea. Lightning strikes the tallest object. I had no clue where that fact came from, but I knew how it would help.

I told Grace my plan telepathically. As soon as I'd finished, I heard a bell ring for the battle to begin. "Grace, quick, use Shadow Ball!" Grace focused her energy into the dark sphere in her hands as the Alakazam's trainer commanded it to use Future Sight. Now, I knew my Future Sights. They usually took about thirty seconds to hit. That should give us just enough time. Grace launched the Shadow Ball at the Alakazam. Or so everyone thoght. What she really did was shoot it above the Alakazam. "Alrighty then, time for part two!" With the Shadow Ball floating above the confused Pokémon, Grace used Psychic to tear it into what looked like a giant, black spider web. She then sent the very core of it right at the Alakazam's head, then twirled it so that he couldn't escape. "Now let's finish this! Thunderbolt!" Grace's hands crackled with electricity, while the Alakazam tried desperately to escape his inky black prison. She sent a large bolt of lightning straight to the web of darkness. I remember learning a few years ago that energy often was attracted to other energy. This included lightning and dark aura. The Thunderbolt connected with the edge of the fragmented Shadow Ball, then the real magic happened. The entire web lit up with electricity, then it was all funneled to the center, where a very unlucky Alakazam had closed its eyes, as if to wish it were somewhere else. There was a bright flash, followed by a huge explosion. When the dust settled, the Alakazam lay on the ground, clearly unconscious.

"Alakazam is unable to battle. Gardevoir is the winner!" I was a little annoyed at the fact that the referee didn't use Grace's name, but not enough to make me forget that the Alakazam's Future Sight hadn't struck yet.

"Grace, use Calm Mind! No questions!" She did as I said, and not a second too soon. As soon as she started glowing, the air around her warped and she was blasted several feet back.

"Phew! Thanks, Mo!" I felt warm hearing her gratefulness. "I completely forgot. That would have really hurt."

"Don't mention it. Now, let's see what's up next!" I listened as the emcee announced that Grace and I had one, the Bronzong's trainer, Markus, had won his battle, and the woman with the Beheeyem, Annabelle, won hers against the emcee himself. "Now, since we once again have an odd number of trainers, we shall have a Battle Royale, albeit a small one. The three trainers will fight in one large battle, with every man for himself." We were directed to separate corners of a large triangular stadium. "At the sound of the bell, begin!" Shortly thereafter, a loud bell clanged. Grace, the Bronzong, and the Beheeyem poised themselves in defensive positions, ready for whatever would come.

I was a little nervous, since I had two opponents that could potentially gang up on Grace, but I dismissed this feeling in order to think logically. "Grace, keep your wits about you!" As I began formulating a plan, the Bronzong had whipped up an enormous monsoon using Rain Dance. That gave me the idea for another electrical attack. "Grace, use Thunderbolt on Beheeyem!" Evidently, I wasn't the only one who knew their basic elementary school science. The Bronzong used Charge Beam at the same time, and with both Electric-type attacks striking Beheeyem with the assistance of the rain, it was too much. The Beheeyem was blasted backwards into the wall, and before it could use a single move, it was out cold. Now it was Grace versus Bronzong. With dual types, my opponent had the advantage, but I had Grace. That was a huge asset.

I decided to wait until Bronzong made the next move, so as to use that attack against it somehow. I had been taking Hapkido for several years now, and one of their basic ideas was to use your opponent's own strengths against them. "Bronzong, use Hypnosis!" That, somehow gave me one of best ideas ever. Thank you, Markus.

"Grace, use Psychic to keep your mind blocked off from it!" She did as told, but it seemed to cause her quite a bit of strain. Once again, I sent my plan telepathically, then braced myself for the upcoming pain. "Break the Hypnosis, then use Psychic on me! Don't hold back!" Grace seemed hesitant to do this, but she conceded, to my great distaste. I'd had headaches before, but none like this. It felt like my brain was being torn out, steamrolled, then used to slap me across the face. I somehow managed to focus during the battle, when I saw the Bronzong's Hypnosis finally work. With great focus, I told Grace to keep a Psychic channel open between us in her sleep. I also apologized for the pain she was about to experience.

"Alright. If you insist." She passed out, and I watched her twitch in her sleep. Come on, come on, please have that move.

"Bronzong, use Dream Eater!" Yes! Soon Markus would experience one of the greatest losses in his life. Grace glowed pink, then began losing her energy to Bronzong. Everything seemed normal at first, until the Bronzong collapsed to the ground, twitching. When it had used Dream Eater, it received all the pain that Grace and I were currently experiencing. This didn't stop it, though. It managed to shake it off, then attempted Charge Beam. I was glad that Bronzong had taken away the pain, because now I could think clearly. I focused on Grace waking up with every possible portion of my mind. Grace opened her eyes, then got up slowly.

"Grace, Thunderbolt!" She somehow managed to muster up the energy to launch a Thunderbolt that matched the energy of the Charge Beam. The two Electric-type attacks collided in the air, superpowered by the Rain Dance from the start of the battle. The two moves were at an impasse, and neither Pokémon refused to yield. Grace, you've wanted to win this for years now! You're only a few seconds away from victory! You can do this!" Apparently, this was all it took to give Grace the motivation, confidence, or whatever it was that caused her to send the Charge Beam and Thunderbolt into the Bronzong's face, knocking it out instantly. Grace collapsed to the ground, drained, but conscious.

"And the winners are Grace and Mo! Congratulations!" The crowd exploded in cheers. "They will be awarded the first place trophy, and the respect of every Psychic-type Pokémon in five regions. Once again, let's hear it for our champions!" I helped Grace to her... feet. I looked at her, and I could see that this was probably the greatest moment of her life up until then. Congratulations, Grace. Enjoy your victory. You deserve it.

10 Minutes Later

"Yes! Yes! Yes! I can't believe we did it!" Grace kept leaping into the air, refusing to listen when I told her to settle down, obviously rejuvenated by the victory. "How can I? We won the competition!"

"Grace! Contain yourself! How about we celebrate with some breakfast? I'm starved!" As if on cue, Grace's stomach growled. "I like it when my company has good taste." Grace and I began laughing, and we headed into a nearby diner for a bite. We were seated, and we didn't have to wait long before our food arrived.

"Hey, M-Mo?" Grace suddenly seemed nervous. She hadn't sounded like that since we made up earlier that morning.

"Whats up?" I was getting concerned at Grace's sudden change of mood.

"I'm s-sorry." She began to get goosebumps, from nerves I suppose.

"For what?"

"This morning. When I ran out. I didn't give you a good enough chance to explain yourself. I just thought that I was seeing some pervert's sick thoughts."

"Technically, you were. Just because I'm a pervert (which I'm not; I'm just sixteen!), it doesn't mean I can't love." I could see this had a positive effect on her.

"And, umm…" Grace looked down at her hands, which had begun to entwine each other.

"Yes?" I urged her to keep talking.

"Well, if you want, I mean you don't have to, but if you want, then maybe we could do that."

"Do 'that'?" I was honestly confused, until an image showed up in my head. The thought wasn't mine. It was Grace's. Actually, it was my thought that morning. But now Grace was suggesting something intimate. I decided that now was as good a time as any.

"Does that answer your question?" Grace smiled sheepishly.

"It does, but the answer is 'no'." I enjoyed watching her expression of awkward happiness change once again to confusion.

"But, I thought –"

"No, I thought. And it was just a thought. I wouldn't do that with you without having filled certain criteria first."

"Well, how do I meet those criteria?" I was curious as to Grace's constant change in sexual attraction towards me, but I passed it off as Grace being an Emotion Pokémon. That would also explain these mood swings.

"That depends." I pulled a small black box out of my pocket and flipped the lid open. Inside was a small silver band with a purple tanzanite stone set into the top. I heard Grace gasp, letting her jaw drop as she put her hand to her chest. "Grace, will you marry me?"